Horton to guide Pirates
Bryce Alderton
Alec Horton, who guided Cypress College men’s and women’s tennis
teams last season, will take over for Glenn Morton as Orange Coast’s
men’s tennis coach, Athletic Director Barbara Bond announced Monday.
Morton was involved in a head-on collision on Adams Avenue in
Costa Mesa April 27 and spent nearly a month in an induced coma.
Morton’s son, Brian, said the family is optimistic his father will
make a full recovery.
OCC women’s tennis coach Janice Maran, who led the Pirates to the
seventh state championship in program history last spring, helped
Bond in the coaching search, which culminated with Horton’s hiring.
“I don’t think Glenn is in any condition to [coach next season],”
Bond said. “I’m hoping he has success with [rehabilitation] and gets
back on his feet.”
Horton, 35, brings 15 years of teaching and coaching experience to
OCC. Last year he directed the Orange Empire Conference men’s tennis
championships.
Horton’s collegiate coaching experience dates to 1992, when he led
the Saddleback women’s team to its only state championship. He has
also coached at the University of Nevada-Reno.
Horton, an adjunct or walk-on coach, is currently the owner and
director of the Mission Tennis Academy, a junior tennis program run
out of Mission Viejo Country Club.
The Lake Forest resident’s credentials also include stints as head
professional of both the San Diego Marriott Tennis Club and Lake
Forest clubs.
In his first season last spring, Morton helped revive OCC’s
program, guiding the Pirates to a second-place finish in the
conference and a postseason berth. He was then named conference Coach
of the Year.
Horton, good friends with Morton and his family, hopes to gain
some tips from another successful OCC coach as he embarks on his
newest job.
“I look forward to carrying on the winning traditions of Orange
Coast College,” Horton said. “I have a great mentor in (women’s head
coach) Janice Maran and hope to accomplish the same success with our
men’s team that she has with the women.”
Bond is confident Horton can continue the success Morton helped
generate last season.
“[Horton] has already [coached] before so it’s not going to be as
big of a learning curve as with someone else,” Bond said. “We were so
fortunate to have Glenn. He turned the program around.”
Bond said Horton brings similar expertise in an attempt to
continue the program’s winning ways.
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